1. INTRODUCTION TO EU CONSUMER LAW 1. What is “consumer law”? 2. Consumer protection as an EU policy. 2.1 Internal market and consumer protection. 2.2 Consumer policy and subsidiarity. 3. EU consumer policy and sources of law. 3.1 Regulations, directives and national consumer law. 3.2 Legal effects of directives. 4. Consumer rights. 4.1 Information.4.2 Education. 4.3 Association. 4.4 Protection of legitimate expectations. 4.5 Judicial protection and access to justice. 5. Consumer concepts. 5.1 Consumer standards. 5.2 “Consumer” as a legal concept.
2. MARKET CONDITIONS: FREE COMPETITION AND FAIR TRADING 1. Consumer protection and competition law 2. Unfair commercial practices. 2.1 Misleading practices. 2.2 Misleading advertising and comparative. 2.3 Aggressive commercial practices
3. FORMATION OF CONSUMER CONTRACTS 1. Information duties. 1.1 General information duties. 1.2 Specific information duties. 2. Offer. 2.1 Formal requirements. 2.2 Advertisements. 3.Acceptance. 4. Time and place of conclusion of contract. 5. Remedies against violation of formation requirements. 5.1 Avoidance. 5.2 Specific performance. 5.3 Damages. 6. Right of withdrawal. 6.1 Scope of application. 6.2 Exercise of withdrawal. 6.3 Effects of withdrawal.
4. UNFAIR TERMS IN CONSUMER CONTRACTS 1. Scope of application of EU consumer law. 2. Concept of unfairness. 2.1 Formal sense: transparency. 2.2 Substantive sense: abuse control. 3. Legal consequences of unfairness.
5. SALE OF CONSUMER GOODS 1. Scope of application of EU consumer law.
2. Conformity of consumer goods with the contract. 2.1 Requirements of conformity. 2.2 Time and presumption of lack of conformity. 3. Remedies for lack of conformity. 3.1 Introduction. 3.2 Repair and replacement. 3.3 Price reduction and rescission (termination). 3.4 Damages. 4. Commercial guarantees.
6. CONSUMER CREDIT 1. Scope of application of EU consumer law. 2. Protective instruments. 2.1 Information requirements. 2.2 Other substantive protection rules (“responsible lending”).
7. TRAVEL LAW 1. Uniform international law and secondary EU law. 2. Protection of transport users. 2.1 Air transport. 2.2 Rail transport. 2.3 Maritime transport. 2.4 Bus and coach transport. 3. Package travel. 4. Time sharing.
The final test will consist of a written exam including a choice of three (3) short questions from among five (5) possible questions and one (1) longer question dealing with a topic of the syllabus. The test will assess the ability of students to connect concepts, to synthesise the main ideas emerging from the topics chosen and to master the special technical concepts of the subject.
Students who have successfully completed the learning activities included in the continued evaluation plan are not required to sit the final exam. The continued evaluation plan consists of a) a minimum of 80% attendance in scheduled classroom sessions, b) classroom preparation and discussion of basic case law and EU legislation and c) writing a brief essay (3 pages) analysing a suggested issue of basic case law or EU legislation (synthesis assessment test).
Criteris específics de la nota «No Presentat»:
Any student who does not show up to take the final test as scheduled according to the official calendar of exams will be given a mark of “incomplete”. Students who have successfully completed the activities of continued evaluation plan are not required to take the final exam.
Subject included in the ENGLISH PROGRAMME of the Faculty of Law. All learning activities and materials are in English. A minimum level of English and a certain familiarity with legal English are necessary to be able to follow the lessons and work with the materials properly.
Subject specifically aimed at students interested in consumer protection and in carrying out their activity as advisors to companies or non-governmental organisations.